Willow's Choice
by Luna del Cielo
Summary: SEQUEL to Willow's Thief -As Willow and Sirius begin to build a new life together, they are besieged by new foes – Voldemort – and old foes long thought to be dead.
1. Shadowed Plans Happy Reunions

**Story: **Willow's Choice  
**Author: **Luna (aka Luna_del_Cielo on lj)  
**Fandom: **Harry Potter/Buffy the Vampire Slayer – although due to the events occurring in the second book of this series, Crescent and Spike's Most Excellent Adventure, there may be mentions of characters from the fandoms of Supernatural, True Blood/Sookie Stackhouse, Gilmore Girls, and Law and Order: SVU. These mentions will not require details and will be shallow at best.  
**Cast of Characters: **This story will come from multiple viewpoints and the 'main stars' (at least, for now, because some surprises may await you, Dearest Readers) will include:  
_BTVS: _Willow Rosenberg, Xander Harris, Dawn Summers, Faith Lehane, Buffy Summers  
_Harry Potter: _Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Harry Potter, Fred Weasley, Bill Weasley, Fleur Delacour

Secondary and Tertiary Characters will include:  
_BTVS: _Spike, Rupert Giles, Robin Wood, Bernard Crowley, Andrew Wells, Daniel 'Oz' Osbourne, Vi, Rona, Connor, Angel, Fred/Illyria, Cordelia, Gunn, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, Kennedy  
_Harry Potter: _Buckbeak, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Delores Umbridge, Ginny Weasley, Kreacher, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva Mcgonagall, Severus Snape, Tom Riddle/Voldemort, Peter Pettigrew, Narcissa Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, Andromeda Tonks, Ted Tonks, Molly Weasley, Arthur Weasley, Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Elphias Doge, Dedalus Diggle, Emmeline Vance, Sturgis Podmore, Hestia Jones  
_Willow's Thief Original Characters_:Bach Lovegood (Luna's American cousin), Ida (slayer/werewolf), Amelia McGonagall (Minerva's sister and a squib/earth witch who was Willow's 'sponsor' when she went dark)  
**Rating: **T  
**Summary: **The sequel to 'Willow's Thief': As Willow and Sirius begin to build a new life together, they are besieged by new foes – Voldemort – and old foes long thought to be dead.  
**Pairings: **Willow/Sirius. Xander/Tonks. Anya/Remus. And there will be other pairings that involve Dawn, Faith, Harry Potter, Fred Weasley, Bill Weasley, Fleur Delacour  
**Spoilers: **This is a sequel of Willow's Thief and takes place in July after Sunnydale became a crater at the end of Season 7. For Harry Potter it takes place at the very beginning of Book 5 "The Order of the Phoenix". If you want to read a quick recap of Willow's Thief to refresh your memory, I have posted one on my livejournal here .  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Nor do I own the other shows that may get mentioned throughout the fic.  
**Thank Yous: **This story would not be possible for everyone who read, recommended, and reviewed Willow's Thief. Furthermore, this new story had a great deal of assistance from Greywizard when it came to mapping out the story ideas (11 pages of it) last year. Seriously Greywizard is the best person for beta-ing that I know. Cmilleralso inspired a certain pairing in this fic as well, not to mention was almost annoyingly persistent in requesting this story ;) Thanks to everyone who has provided input over the last year!

* * *

"What is the matter, Peter? One would think you would be much more excited," the thin voice hissed in amusement. Here in this abandoned house, his quiet voice barely slithered over the booming noise of the summer thunderstorm raging outside. At the moment the smooth voice seemed to caress his ear, like the flickering of a forked tongue, but Peter knew that the voice had the ability to instill fear instantaneously and he needed to be wary.

The plump man sniffled and shivered a little as he stood awkwardly in front of his lord with a paper sack in his hand. The rain had drenched his clothes and this sparsely decorated house carried a chilling draft that made his teeth chatter – although, the cold draft could also be the effect of its current occupant.

"Yes, yes, of course my Lord," he eagerly agreed as he set the package at his lord's feet.

Icy laughter pierced the air like flying daggers and Peter's heart twisted at the sound.

"You know better than to lie to me, Peter. I can see the truth of your feelings. Tell me, do you judge what I do as unwise?" The speaker leaned forward in his elaborately decorated high-backed chair and red eyes watched him from the shadows of the room.

"No! No, my lord! Not at all!" Peter fervently declared. He bit his lip, almost hard enough to draw blood, as he tried to form his next sentence in his head. "It's just…is this spell necessary? After all, couldn't Nott or someone else be just as useful in implementing your plan? Or, maybe, even me?" he asked, somewhat hopefully.

"Peter, you know how special you are to my cause. After all, without you I would not be alive." A flash of a white, predatory smile glinted in the little bit of light that the room's heavy drapes allowed.

"_However_, you know that I have been searching for the ingredients of this spell for the last several months and it is necessary that it works. You must put aside your personal feelings, Peter – there is far more important things to think about…like how we must recover that prophecy and ensnare the Dark One."

Peter swallowed heavily and nodded with a jerk of his head. "Yes, Lord Voldemort."

* * *

"How much longer do we have, Sirius?" Dawn called to him as she strung up bright green and pink party streamers in the living room of Grimmauld Palace.

"Xander and Tonks are bringing her over in about fifteen minutes," he informed her as a feeling of anticipation shot through him. Hastily he used a magical adhesive spell to hang up the 'Welcome Home' sign and then began to look around the room for anything that he may have forgotten.

Fred and George Weasley were snickering about something as they strung up the lanterns and Sirius rolled his eyes to himself. He liked Molly's kids quite a bit since they reminded Sirius of himself and James but if they pulled any pranks at Willow's party he was going to show them what it meant to mess with a Maurader.

"Sir, you got any tape around here?" Dawn asked as she looked down at him from her place on a dining room chair, "I'm all out and we definitely need more streamers – Willow loves streamers like Harry loves Quidditch."

Two simultaneous popping noises sounded and the twins appeared on each side of Dawn – who, judging by her face, had been violently startled by their sudden appearance.

"Why do you need tape, silly Dawn?" George inquired with raised eyebrows that got lost in his shaggy red locks.

"Yes! You're a witch, after all. We could teach you an adhesive spell, if you like," Fred smiled at her – and the blush that colored Dawn's cheeks was not lost on Sirius.

Dawn let out an exaggerated sigh as she tried to cover up the reaction that Fred's wide smile had caused on her. "Guys! You know I've been studying like crazy for the past two months with Sirius so hopefully Dumbledore will let me into Hogwarts and there's just no _way_I can fit in any meaningless spells into my poor, overtaxed brain."

Fred snapped off a charm that hung up the rest of Dawn's streamers for her. Ron and Hermione were just walking in and both were startled by the crepe paper that swished past their heads. "Dawn," Fred sighed sadly. "An adhesive spell is certainly not useless."

"Indeed, it can be most helpful in situations," grinned George as he shared a look with his twin.

"For example—," Fred began.

"–Like this!" George finished as he said a word in Latin and pointed his wand at Ron. Immediately their younger brother flew against the wall, two feet above the hardwood floor, and stuck there like a wet noodle.

"George!" Ron called out in anger, his reddened face almost matching his hair, while both Dawn and Hermione smirked and the twins burst into laughter.

"George! Fred! Don't start trouble," Sirius warned. "Willow's been traveling for two months around the world searching for new slayers and I want her to have a nice time her first day back."

"But of course!" Fred agreed with a congenial smile. "George was just trying to help you decorate, that's all!"

"Let me down!" Ron shouted as he struggled against his bonds.

"Boys," Sirius stated in a warning tone that suddenly made him feel very old. After all, it wasn't _that_long ago that he was the one getting yelled at by adults!

Fred and George sighed dramatically, shrugged their shoulders, and then George released his younger brother. Ron fell to the floor with a loud thump, glaring daggers at the twins. "Just you wait! I'll get you back!" he threatened.

The twins just laughed merrily.

Faith strolled in the living room from the kitchen, saw the twins laughing, and smirked. The newest 'professor' at the Slayer Academy – created by Giles as the destination for every newly called slayer – had visited Grimmauld Palace enough times to know that when the twins were laughing, it was usually something to smirk about. Her doe-brown eyes lit up when she saw Sirius. "Yo Mad Dog! I've been trying to look through your cabinets. Where's your liquor? Ain't a party if there ain't any of that fire whiskey you introduced me to!"

As Faith talked, it couldn't be more obvious how the Weasley boys – Ron, George, and Fred – all stared at the leather-clad slayer. She had that reaction on almost every male.

Sirius laughed and shook his head at Faith's predictability. Besides Willow and Remus, he figured that she was the next person he was closest to. They befriended one another in Sunnydale after bonding over prison stories and guilty secrets, and he was glad that she was here for Willow's party. Of course, he still wasn't sure about her nickname for him – but that's what he got for having a dog as an Animagus form.

"Hidden," he smiled with a nod towards the twins. "Don't want the kiddies getting into it."

"Hey!" the twins shouted in unison.

Molly, who had just walked into the room, glared at her sons. "You two may be of age but you're still in school! You certainly don't need to double up on your vices now, of all times."

"Ah, so after we graduate we can have all the vices we want?" Fred asked with a sly smile.

Molly promptly whacked him in true motherly style upside the head with a rolled-up edition of The Daily Prophet. "Go set up the food in the dining room." When they didn't move right away she raised her newspaper, and they ran off.

"Nice to see you got them trained, Molly," Faith grinned as she lounged back in a chair.

Molly and the children had more or less moved into Grimmauld Palace to help him with housekeeping and (Sirius bet 10 galleons that Dumbledore put them up to it) to keep an eye on him. _Apparently_he was considered too much of a risk taker and they wanted to make sure he kept 'safe' at the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters. So Faith, regular visitor that she was, had met Molly many times. Unfortunately, the very proper Mrs. Weasley was not a fan of the loud and rather obnoxious slayer.

"Yes, well, it's always important to know how to train the men in one's life," Molly joked with a small smile as she went to work rearranging the furniture.

Faith chuckled. "Trust me, if there's one thing I know how to do, it's how to handle men," she said with a wink and a leer.

Taken aback, Molly pretended she heard nothing and went back to cleaning. Sirius just rolled his eyes.

"If you know how to control them so well, how come you don't want one?" Sirius asked with a smirk.

Sitting up, Faith smiled sweetly. "More of a love 'em and leave 'em type. Besides, who says I only like men?" His eyes widened and she laughed again. "God, you men are all the same. Talk about some girl-on-girl action and you get all wriggly like a worm on a hook."

"Well, no," Sirius tried to defend himself. "I didn't react like that when Willow told me that she was bi-sexual."

"Well, _yeah_, 'cause you wanted to get with her. Most men don't like to share," Faith snorted. A teasing smile crept onto her face. "Of course, if you're ever into that, you just let me know."

Molly let out a little "Oh!" of horror and muttered something about needed to inspect the cleanliness of the bathrooms.

Leaning over Faith and placing his hands on her chair, he smirked when a surprised expression crossed her face. "Faith," he began in a throaty voice. He tenderly touched her temple and was amused by the deer-in-headlights look on her face now. He leaned in closer. "Besides not liking to share, you're also like a sister to me at this point." The hand tenderly touching her temple snaked up to ruffle her hair obnoxiously while he burst out laughing.

"Jackass!" Faith smacked his hand away. "And geez, thanks. I think of you like a smelly dog older brother as well. And Willow's too book-y for me anyways. I need a hip-swaying hot mama badass," she grinned as she smoothed back her dark brown locks.

"Willow's a badass," he defended lightly.

"Yeah, but I want some kink, ya know? Leather and stuff." A devilish smile broke out over Faith's face and Sirius tried his hardest to get that particular mental image out of his head.

The front door opened and Faith's jaw dropped at the man entering the house. Tall with long red hair pulled back into a ponytail, and a fang earring dangling around his neck, he was wearing a leather vest and looking – in her opinion – damn lickable. Her lips were already curving into a sultry smile, and then someone else, a woman, followed him in. She was almost as tall as the man, slender with long silvery hair, and piercing blue eyes.

Faith couldn't figure out which one to choose.

Willow was fidgeting incessantly in the backseat of Xander's truck trying to figure out if she should wear her hair up or down. "What do you think, Tonks?" she asked Xander's girlfriend.

The metamorphmagus turned around in the passenger seat and peered closely at the redheaded witch. "I think down. Oooh, and do those spiral curls you did once over Christmas break when I visited!"

She ran a hand through her short locks. After getting her hair cut chin-length at a sidestreet shop in Shanghai (goddess, do they have hot summers), she wasn't quite sure what to do with it. It was this short back in freshman year of college and back then she knew how to make it look nice, but the prospect of seeing her lover in a few moments was making her extremely nervous. "Ya think?" she inquired dubiously.

"I think," Tonks affirmed before raising her wand and performing a minor beauty spell.

Willow immediately leaned forward to catch her reflection in the rearview mirror. Her locks were now set in twisted curls; for good measure she shook her head, just to see how they bounced. "You're right! Thanks Tonks!"

"Will! Sit back," Xander warned as she blocked his vision in the rearview mirror. "Just because I have a magic eye _doesn't_mean that it's any easier driving on these crazy roads."

Taking in the sight of his white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel of the blue Ford, Willow giggled. "Still not used to driving on the wrong side of the road?"

Xander just glared but remained otherwise focused on the road; even his magical eye refrained from movement.

"Hey, you Yanks are the ones who drive on wrong side," Tonks sniffed with a slight smile.

"So says the witch who doesn't even drive," Xander remarked with a snort of laughter.

"Hey! My dad is a muggle and he drives." Tonks crossed her arms over her shoulders. "And…I can so drive!"

"Right. I think that's what you told me on our third date here in jolly old backwards-driving England. And what happened?" Xander asked as he glanced over with a grin. Willow leaned forward, intrigued.

Tonks answered in a mumbled reply.

Xander held his hand up to his ear. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

Glaring at him, Tonks repeated herself. "I hit a bloody stupid parked car." She sighed forlornly. "Pulling out of the parking space."

Xander started laughing and Willow tried to hide her own giggles. Annoyed, but smiling, Tonks playfully hit her boyfriend. "Whatever! I sodding fixed the dents with a spell! Honestly, you'd think I had killed a bunny – like _some_people I know."

Judging by Xander's guilty expression, Willow knew who that particular culprit was. "You killed a bunny?"

Squirming in his seat, Xander shrugged before parking on the side of the road. "I didn't _mean_too," he whined sadly. "It just jumped in the way."

Tonks nodded. "See? You are so not the best driver."

"But at least I'm no Buffy!" Xander cheerfully replied.

"Speaking of, where is she?" Tonks asked Willow. "Xander said that she was staying in Asia for a bit after your guys' search for slayers."

Willow frowned momentarily. She didn't like the idea of leaving Buffy – and goddess knows the plane trip from Tibet to England had been boring without her. "Well, did Xander tell you that we met up with an old friend from high school in Tibet?"

Tonks nodded. "Your ex, yeah?"

Wincing – because their reunion had been kind of weird – she nodded. "Yeah. We found a new slayer in this Tibetan village and it turned out that Oz was there. Apparently he was working for a shaman there who had helped him to control the wolf."

"And Buffy stayed…?"

"She was interested in how Oz was able to calm his inner wolf and stayed to be the shaman's student. Buffy said she shouldn't be gone for too long, though."

"Can you imagine Buffy mediating on top of a mountain all day?" Xander asked with a wry smile as they got out of the car.

"Well, she did that with Giles sometimes. I think she more so wants to control her slayer dreams. With the unleashing of the potentials she's really in tune to all of their thoughts and feelings and doesn't know how to suppress that," Willow informed them.

"That's weird," Xander remarked. "Then again, at least she's not having mind reading problems."

Willow looked at her best friend with interest. "Is it true, by the way, that Luna and Spike recruited a mind reader for the Slayer Academy?"

Xander grinned and nodded. "Yup. Seventeen year old named Sookie from Louisiana who is BFFs with a new slayer."

Willow shivered at the thought of all the baggage that goes with telepathy. As a witch she knew of some telepathic communication spells but thinking of someone reading her mind whenever they wanted gave her the wiggins.

"Anyways, so here we are!" Tonks declared with a grin. Before them stood a row of townhouses, illuminated by the bright overhead sky. The weather was gorgeous, the grass was green, and it was warm out this July – if she squinted she could _almost_pretend she was home.

Willow hated to admit it, because the Hellmouth had been, well, _hell_, but she did miss her home. Warm California weather was all she knew. With a grimace, she knew that this year she would have to experience winter.

'_But I'll have Sirius to keep me warm_,' Willow thought with a naughty smile as she got out of the car.

"Oi, what are you smiling about?" Tonks asked with a knowing smile.

Willow blushed but just shrugged innocently.

"Bloody have to practice my silencing spells." Sighing dramatically, Tonks took Willow's arm and began leading her forward, as Xander followed with her luggage in tow. Oddly, they were facing the middle of two different houses, and Willow wasn't sure which one was Sirius'. One was a light peach color with a white porch swing and looked far too feminine to be the Most Noble House of Black. The other was a white with the windows flung open, and two small children playing in the yard. Hmm, she doubted that was Sirius', either.

Tonks thrust a small piece of parchment paper, clearly torn off.

_The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number 12, Grimmauld Palace, London._

Willow read it and then gave Tonks a quizzical look. "What's this mean?"

Grinning, Tonks tilted her head in the direction of the house. Willow followed her gaze, a puzzled expression gracing her face, as the space between the two houses she had observed earlier began moving apart, as if something had wedged between the homes and was pushing them apart. That 'something' sprouted as the space between the houses increased, and suddenly Willow realized she was staring at a foreboding black house.

A shiver ran through her – both at the presence of the mysterious house and the miracle of magic that could do that in the Wizarding World.

"Here we are!" Tonks declared cheerfully.

"Weird, huh?" Xander said to Willow with a raised brow.

"More like amazing," Willow told him with a smile.

As they began to walk into the house, Xander shook his head. "Magic is weird. Give me some solid hammer and nails any day." He smirked and added in a dramatic voice as he raised his arm victoriously, "For I am Thor, god of thunder!"

The girls shared an amused look and shook their heads. Tonks grasped the silver door knocker in the form of a silver serpent, and rapped it twice.

Someone threw the door open – revealing a mob of people and a wizarding banner that blinked_ Welcome Home, Willow!'_A chorus of whispered "Hi Willow!"s met her ears, created a low buzzing noise. The Weasleys were here – Molly, Arthur, Ron, Ginny, and the twins – along with Hermione, Remus, Anya, Dawn, Faith, Andromeda and her husband Ted Tonks, and a couple she didn't recognize.

Willow blinked, taken aback by the congregation awaiting her – she had no idea a _party_was being planned! Her eyes immediately sought out Sirius and she found him in the center of the crowd, eyes sparkling and a smile stretched across his face. He was wearing a black blazer over a blue shirt, which brought out his gorgeous cerulean eyes, and black slacks.

Somewhat dimly she noticed that Tonks had crashed into an umbrella stand that resembled a troll's foot and then a loud screaming noise echoed through the room as Molly Weasley and Remus Lupin raced to a curtained portion of the wall; but Willow couldn't take her focus off of Sirius. It had been two months since she had last seen him and Willow had thought of him every day. Sure, they exchanged letters but this…this was so much better.

With that thought she headed towards him and flung herself into his arms, reveling in the feeling of his strong arms holding her tightly against him. His hand ran through her hair, making her scalp tingle, and she tightened her arms over his back. A soft sigh of relief ran through her, as if a part of her had worried that she may never see her Sirius again. After living in constant danger for the past year she had always, in the back of her mind, worried that something may happen again.

But Sirius was here, safe. And now she was here, safe in his arms.

* * *

**A/N:**  
Sequels are never easy to write – especially to a story that was so popular. To be honest, I've been scared to start ever since finishing 'Willow's Thief' last November. I hope everyone enjoys this story as much as they did the first one. Since this story features such a large cast right at the beginning of the story, I will warn that the first few chapters may not be action-packed as 'Willow's Thief' was right in the beginning. But I promise you, I have 20 pages of notes and lots of insanity planned. Villains will be climbing out of the woodwork in this fic and some of them will be ones you likely never expected ;)

Thank you for reading. I would love some feedback – this sequel is all for you guys!

...Not to mention, you know I always take requests when it comes to what happens to characters regarding pairings, deaths, and other things, so fill free to leave a note! I won't promise anything (Musie makes the final decision) but you never know…in 'Willow's Thief' quite a few things happened due to requests… :)

_References_:  
*In Book 5 of Harry Potter the Weasley's have moved into Grimmauld Palace for the summer. The reasoning is never given and they are shown in the first part of the book as cleaning out the manor since it is the new Order of the Phoenix Headquarters.  
*Mad Dog: Faith's nickname for Sirius, decided after she heard about his animagus form in 'Willow's Thief'  
* The Daily Prophet- Wizarding newspaper of Great Britain  
*Xander's magical eye – After Caleb punctured his eye in Willow's Thief, Anya used her immense Gringotts funds (turns out her account from the year 1100 was still alive!) to purchase him a magical eye, a'la Mad-Eye Moody.


	2. Ding, Dong, the Witch is…Chainsawed?

**Ding, Dong, the Witch is…Chainsawed?**

*****************************  
Willow snuggled closer to Sirius in his four-poster bed, reveling in their post-coital bliss as she ran her hands over his bare chest. A soft cotton sheet hugged their lower halves and cool air brushed across their exposed flesh. She noticed that Sirius' hair had grown a couple inches in the last two months, a bit past his shoulders, but he was otherwise clean-shaven. In fact, as she nuzzled his jaw line, she could still smell his aftershave; knowing he shaved just for her made Willow smile.

Lazily, her eyes scanned the contents of his room. They had left the party so fast and jumped so quickly into his bed that she hadn't a chance to take in her surroundings. The room was oddly juvenile, with dark walls and dozens of pictures hanging up. Some of the pictures were moving (wizarding pictures) and others were normal – especially the several centerfolds of nearly naked women. Her brow rose an inch as she looked at that and she gave her lover a perturbed look.

"I can't say I agree with your decorating skills," Willow informed him lightly, her finger tapping in annoyance on his chest. Speaking of 'chest' she was suddenly very aware of how her chest was not as well endowed as the women's on the walls.

A bashful expression crossed Sirius' face. "Yeah…er…You remember how I talked about not getting along with my batshit crazy mother?"

Willow nodded slightly, not wanting to disturb her comfortable position on Sirius' chest.

"Well she hated muggle things and, well, I loved to piss her off so I hung up muggle posters of muggle girls with a permanent sticking charm." Sirius winced. "And now I can't get it off."

Her lips unraveled from a frown to a slight smile. "Really?" she asked archly, not quite sure about believing him.

"Really," Sirius chuckled. "I swear Willow, do you really think I would prepare my dank hole of a home for the love of my life, and forget to take down some half-naked chicks from two decades ago?"

_Love of my life…_. A full smile blossomed over her face, his words watering her ego until it was back to where it had been. "Well, okay then." She glared at the semi-naked women staring unblinkingly at her. "But by the goddess, I'll figure out a way to get rid of that damn charm!"

Sirius let out a barking laugh and grasped her around the waist, pulling her close. His nose nestled in her hair and he sighed, his breath warming her skull. "Merlin, I've missed you."

Her eyes stung, but Willow pushed the tears away. She wasn't one to cry so easily but she was just so _happy_ right now that she almost couldn't believe it. "I've missed you too," she said in a choked voice.

Gentle hands grasped her chin and Sirius pulled her face up, to stare into his. "Don't cry love. We've got forever." Sirius smiled then, and it was a smile full of promises and love.

"Sounds good to me," Willow whispered, before leaning in for a deep kiss.

***

The denizens of Willow's Welcome Home party milled around the Black manor dining room, feasting on a variety of snacks and punch that Molly and Remus had whipped up – they were (unfortunately) the only souls there who were capable of better than adequate cooking and baking. Dawn chattered animatedly to Ginny and Hermione while Tonks displayed her many form-changing talents to the twins, Ron, and Xander; the latter always encouraged the bunny face just because Anya's reaction was priceless. For that very reason, based on previous experiences this summer, Anya cuddled with Remus far away from Tonks and conversed with Faith, Bill Weasley, and Fleur Delacour (the couple previously unknown to Faith and Willow). The others; Molly, Arthur, Andromeda, and Ted, talked amongst themselves.

A thumping sound above met their ears and each occupant looked up at the ceiling – some with knowing smiles, some beguiled, and others confused.

Ron carried one of those latter expressions. "They sure did leave in a hurry. Think they're coming back?" he asked in reference to Sirius and Willow.

Fred and George snickered and simultaneously punched him in the arm. "If it weren't for the red hair, I would swear you weren't related to us," Fred sighed dramatically.

"Don't worry about saving them any punch," Anya informed the group with an exasperated look. "If I know them, they likely won't stop having sex until at least tomorrow afternoon."

Arthur Weasley started choking on his drink and Molly clapped him several times in quick succession on the back. The twins started snickering, as did Ginny, and mostly everyone else looked amused – Remus, being the more proper of the couple, did not smile but he did not roll his eyes either; dating Anya for almost half a year had made him loosen up quite a bit.

"Honestly, Anya!" Molly scolded in an appalled voice. "Between you and Faith, I feel as though I should just charm my children's ears shut!"

Faith chuckled darkly. "Hey, they're not little kids, Mol. And with a big war going on a little sex talkety-talk ain't gonna hurt them." She shrugged her shoulders for emphasis.

Molly bristled. "Well Faith, when _you_ have children you can do as you see fit, but—"

"—I am zorry, but I do not zee ze problem here. In France ve are verrry open about our sexuality. It is far better than zome of ze violent games uzzer countries' children engage in," Fleur spoke up thoughtfully from her place at Bill's side.

"Well, Fleur, this is not France," Molly said heatedly, even as her husband caressed her hand soothingly.

"Molly?" Andromeda asked peacefully as she rose from the dining room table. "Would you mind helping me look for the wine in the kitchen? I know you've been cleaning in there and would likely be able to find it sooner than I."

Molly let out a noise of disgruntlement but proceeded into the kitchen, Andromeda following her.

"Vell, you're muzzer zeems to get angrily verrry easily, Bill," Fleur commented in a low voice that none but Bill, Anya, Remus, and Faith could hear. She fingered the hem of his leather vest idly as she spoke.

Bill shrugged, his fang earring dangling as he moved. "Mom's never been the rational sort but the falling out between my parents and my brother Percy have unnerved her – not to mention Voldemort being back again."

Fleur shuddered. "I hate ze thought of that snake. I hope ze Order can kill him."

"Please," Faith smirked. "Our posse has gone up against worst than some impotent wizard with a bunch of Death munchers running around."

Fleur giggled, her silvery-blond hair swishing across her face. "Death munchers? Zou must be verrry brave to call zem zuch a thing."

Brave? Faith shrugged carelessly but her lips twisted into a faint smile. "Nah, just seen a lot in my day."

Billy eyed her carefully, his green eyes running over her form. "Is what my brother Ron said true? You're one of the original vampire slayers?"

The collapse of Sunnydale had not even been a blip on the news feed in Britain since they were so worried about their populace being frightened of the Voldemort rumors that they didn't want to frighten their people of any major threats – and the collapse of a Hellmouth was a large threat. Fortunately, until a couple months ago Bill had been stationed at the Gringotts in Egypt so he was privy to a much different news source.

Biting her lip uncomfortably, Faith shook her head. "Naw, that'd be B, she's the big time boss of us all, the original."

"Actually Faith, you are one of the originals – it's both you and Buffy that the girls are descended from. In fact, it is possibly that it is just you since, as I've thought about it, you came from Kendra, the second branch of the slayer line," Remus suggested.

"Wha—? Nah," Faith shook her head nervously. "I'm not the special one."

Fleur grasped Faith's hand and gave her a thoughtful look. "It zounds to me like you are verry special, Faith." The place on her wrist where Fleur's skin made contact with her own became heated, and it wasn't too long before another part of Faith became heated as well.

"Thanks," Faith grinned, this time with a great deal more confidence.

***

Dawn observed the older people in the corner of the room – Remus, Faith, Anya, and that attractive 'bad-boy'-looking guy and pretty foreign girl. "So, who's the hottie?" Dawn whispered to Ginny and Hermione.

The day after Willow left with Buffy for their Asia travels, Dawn had moved into Grimmauld Palace with Sirius. Her older uncle-type friend had decided to move into his childhood home since Dumbledore asked for the home to be used as the secret headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Of course, since Sirius was still considered an outlaw (even though the American Department of Magic had cleared his name this stupid tea-drinking Ministry refused to believe Sirius was innocent) he couldn't leave.

But Dawn tried to keep him busy. Dumbledore had promised her that if she reached at least the fifth year level of the Hogwarts curriculum – even though at her age she should be a seventh year – then she could attend school this year. Otherwise, she'd be forced by Buffy to attend some normal school somewhere near Kidlington, the current headquarters of the Watchers Council. So Sirius, once again, was her tutor.

Of course, this house sucked and was a disaster from years of being abandoned, so Dumbledore had asked Molly Weasley to help make it suitable for human living. She had brought her entire brood – the twins, Ginny, and Ron – to help her clean pretty much right after Dawn moved in. Not too long after, Hermione came to move in and help as well. Dawn was glad they had all come because Sirius had gotten awfully depressed when Willow left so she liked having some friends around.

Ginny Weasley's nose crinkled in disgust and she shot Dawn an exasperated look. "D_awn_, that's my brother, you know."

"Well, yeah," Dawn smirked. "But that doesn't mean he isn't hot."

Hermione, always the provider of information even when it was more gossip-focused and less academically inclined, leaned towards Dawn on the bench. "That's Bill, he's twenty-four and the oldest of the family. Apparently he's a little bit rough around the edges. Oh, and he works for Gringotts, the goblin bank, in Egypt."

"Well, now he works in London, ever since he decided to join the Order and help out here," Ginny pointed out. She smirked. "Apparently his new girlfriend, Fleur, got a job at Gringotts to _eemprove 'er Eeenglish_ and Bill's been giving her lots of private lessons." Ginny snickered after performing a mockery of Fleur's French accent.

"Ow-owww," Dawn sniggered. "Such a shame. I saw him and thought he actually might be decent for Buffy."

"Buffy, the sister with the world's worst taste in men?" Ginny asked with a deadpanned look. The past two months had given the girls a lot of time to talk and Dawn had confided considerably in her new friends, especially about all things Sunnydale.

Dawn laughed. "Look, the big bad evil is over—"

"—But Voldemort is still alive," Hermione reminded her, negating the mention of the First Evil.

"Right," Dawn rolled her eyes sarcastically. "Trust me, he's not high on our Big Bad list. Remember – First Evil and Hell goddess? Yeah, he's no big. No," she sighed as she switched topics, "I feel like Buffy deserves something nice for once, ya know? I mean, she can kinda retire now, especially with Faith who – according to Xander – is doing pretty well as the lead slayer at the Slayer Academy with Giles while Buffy travels. And while she and Spike had fun together when the three of us traveled right after the Hellmouth collapsed, I feel like she deserves someone more normal."

"Well, I think Bill's taken," Hermione pointed out as the wizard in question wrapped his arm around Fleur.

"_Well_, maybe he's into threesomes," Dawn joked with a sly smile.

"Oh god, _no_!" Ginny said with a laugh that was half-disgust, half-hysterical. "My mom would drop dead from shock!"

"Mum would drop dead in shock from what?" a voice interrupted their conversation. Dawn looked up to realize the twins were standing on each side of her, their heads almost parallel with her own.

"Jeez! What is up with you guys and sneaking up everywhere?" Dawn cried out in exasperation as she pressed her palm over her heart.

Fred, to her right, smiled and shrugged before forcing Ginny to scoot over so he could squeeze in between her and Dawn. Likewise, George forced Hermione to move so he could sit on Dawn's left. "It's fun!" Fred chuckled.

"Now what were you saying about our dear ol' mother?" George inquired, leaning over the table and raising a brow in Ginny's direction.

"None of your business," Ginny responded with a saccharine smile. "In case you didn't notice, this is a private witches-only conversation."

George smirked and threw his arm around Dawn's shoulders, ignoring the indignant look that his twin shot him. "It's a _party_, lil sis. We're here to all hang out."

Dawn, taken aback from George suddenly touching her, felt flustered. The twins were the same age as her and she got along with them really well, but they flirted with and teased her so often that she really didn't know what to think when it came to them. She knew their type – confident, loud, slighty-obnoxious but in an adorable way, and well-liked by everyone; they were like the cool jocks at school. And if there was one thing Dawn had never been, it was cool. She just didn't feel like she fit in with them, but then when they did touchy-feely things like _this_…well, there was a little part of her that got excited, like maybe they did like her.

Although…George was nice and all…but Dawn would really prefer Fred to have his arm around her right now. The twins were identical in looks and so similar in personality that it seemed at first that they actually were the same person, but Dawn had begun to notice the differences. George was spent more time contemplating decisions while Fred was more rash. Fred was insane with how extroverted he was, while George was slightly more mellow. But then again, just when she thought she had them pinned they switched 'roles' and acted more like the other – it could be confusing, trying to figure them out.

Ultimately, both of the twins were hilarious and fun to hang around, but Fred's energy drew her in like a flock of vampires to a Hellmouth.

"And you know what?" George added with a sly smile. "The best way to party is to dance!" He stood up and held out his hand to Hermione. "My dear madam Gryffindor, care to dance?"

"Uh." Hermione's jaw dropped in surprise. "I don't…well…" She looked from Ginny to Dawn and shrugged. "Alright then." She offered her hand to George and he led her out of the dining room and into the living room – leaving Dawn, Fred, and Ginny to stare at each other.

Fred covered up his shocked look with a bright smile. "Dawn? Wanna dance?" His red hair hung slightly his eyes, which were a warm amber color; a shade lighter than George's.

Dawn's teeth bit gently into her lower lip as she tried to fight a huge grin. "Sure," she agreed nonchalantly – even while she screamed happily inside her mind as Fred led her into the living room.

***

Ron, who had been watching Tonks turn her ears pointy like a goblin, looked up as he saw the twins, Hermione, Dawn, and Ginny head for the living room. "Hey, what're they up to?"

"Probably no good," Tonks smirked.

Without a word Ron got up to go investigate, not wanting to be left out of whatever his friends and family were doing. Xander pulled Tonks against his chest, enjoying the feeling of her soft body molding against his own. They were sitting at the other end of the dining room table, their backs to the table with their feet outstretched across the dark tiles embossed Black family crest.

Xander and Tonks were enjoying the peaceful moment – with Tonks working overtime at the Ministry and Xander working day and night to help make the Slayer Academy succeed, they rarely saw each other. Unfortunately, the moment was broken by a loud bloodcurdling scream.

***

As Willow lay on her stomach, Sirius amused himself by tracing idle patterns on her back with his fingers. She turned her head towards him and he loved the way she smiled; it worked onto her face slowly when she was languid like this, but once it was on, it was brilliant, radiating light into his very soul.

Sirius smirked and mentally rolled his eyes at himself. Merlin, if Prongs could hear him now. Back when James was obsessed with Lily he used to speak all flowery and dramatic just like that, and of course he, Moony, and Wormtail used to laugh riotously at their lovesick friend.

Something twisted in his gut at thinking of Peter. Memories were difficult for him because his life before Azkaban had contained so many happy moments that were now stained for him, like how tea residue creates a dark ring inside a cup. James and Lily were dead and Peter was to blame. And not only had Peter sold his best friends out but he had also attacked Sirius' godson with a knife and used his blood to bring back Voldemort.

'_Fucking Peter_,' he thought viciously as a dozen mental images of what he would like that traitor's fate to be. James, Lily, Harry…Peter deserved to be killed horribly.

On top of those crimes, he was still working for Voldemort and likely informed him of Sirius's animagus status. Dumbledore said that it wasn't safe for Sirius to leave the house as a human – thanks to the Ministry – or as a dog, thanks to Peter; Voldemort would know his hidden form.

Which meant he had been stuck in this fucking house for two months, unable to leave or do _anything_ to help Harry and the Order. Sure, he had been helpful tutoring Dawn but that was _boring_. He wanted action. He _needed_ action.

"Sirius?" Willow's voice was thoughtful, perhaps even worried. He tore himself from his thoughts and gave her a gentle smile.

"Yes, luv?"

She reached over to stroke his cheek, her green eyes alight with concern. "You…you looked like you were somewhere far away for a moment, somewhere bad. Are you okay?"

Sirius loved Willow more than life itself. He never wanted her to be worried and he never wanted to lie to her.

"Yes," Sirius told her softly, pulling her closer to him.

But sometimes you lie to those you loved.

They lay there for sometime in silence until a bloodcurdling scream reached their ears. Willow pulled away, shocked, and stared wide-eyed at the door. "What is that?"

Sirius grimaced. "That would be my mother."

Turning to him slowly, Willow gave him an incredulous look. "Your….dead mother?"

He sighed. Pushing the covers off he slid off the bed. If he could just wipe his past clean – family and all – he would be a happy man. "Let me show you," Sirius said with a deep frown.

***

Willow followed Sirius down the stairs, her wide eyes now taking in the space that she had passed by too quickly less than two hours ago. As her pink slippered feet (_not_ bunnies, out of respect for Anya) padded down the rickety staircase, she noticed something like plaques on the wall leading down the staircase. Except, there was something on them…as she got closer her mind computed the sight before her and Willow let out a little shriek.

Sirius whirled around to check on her, his hands protectively going around her waist. "What is it, luv?"

She struggled to find the words, unable to avert her eyes from the grotesque sight. "Sirius…there are shrunken mutant heads on your wall," she answered slowly, her voice filled with disbelief.

Sirius glanced at the wall and his eyes widened before he grimaced. His shoulders stooped down, minimizing his presence, and he appeared embarrassed. "Er, they're not mutant heads…they're house elves."

"H-h-house elves?" Willow repeated. "As in, those little guys who are slaves for wizards?"

His posture turned defensive as Sirius' head cocked back and he held his hands up as if to ward against her argument. "Hey now, house elves _like_ doing household tasks. Please don't tell me you agree with Hermione and her whole 'SPEW' nonsense – she's been jabbering on about that since she got here."

Willow had no idea what 'SPEW' was but thought it sounded gross. As for what Sirius said… "Wait, you mean you're for having elf slaves?" she asked slowly, cautiously.

"Uh…" Sirius looked around wildly and gestured towards the wall of dead house elf heads. "Listen, I think it's fine to have house elves but I would never put their _heads_ on my bloody wall. That's the family madness right there, hung up with Permanent Sticking Charms that I can't get off."

Appalled, Willow just shook her head. Her nerves were grating from the combination of the shrill screaming and Sirius' apparent lack of concern for other living beings. "Okay, okay," she murmured as she waved away his explanation. "Just show me your crazy mother."

Pursing his lips, Sirius nodded and led her downstairs to the living room, where the rest of the party had gathered. Andromeda and her husband Ted, a wiry man with sandy blond hair and brown eyeglasses, were yanking thick moth-eaten black curtains over what looked like a portrait. Willow realized now that Tonks had disturbed the portrait earlier but she had been so caught up with Sirius that Willow had not even paid attention to the disturbance.

"Whoa-ho-hooo, look who's up and at 'em!" Faith called with a wicked smile playing along her lips. She leaned against the arm of a dark blue couch, her red tank top rolling up slightly to expose her lean stomach.

Willow blushed. She really hated attention being called to her sexy fun times. Yes, she was an adult but she still found it embarrassing.

"Who woke up my mother?" Sirius growled, looking annoyed. However, Willow noted that his voice wasn't very loud – nor was anyone else's.

Dawn raised her hand with a guilty expression on her face. "Sorry," she winced. "We were dancing and I kind of tripped and fell. Then Mama Black's curtains flew back and she went all psycho again and yelling at us for besmirching her house."

"Oh no, it was my fault," Fred amended quickly with a shake of his head. "I should have watched where I spun you." He ran a hand through his long locks as he studied Dawn's reaction with an equally guilty look.

Arms crossing over her chest, Dawn shook her head. "No, it's cool," she promised in an embarrassed tone. "I'm like, super clutzy."

"This is getting ridiculous," Sirius sighed irritably. He gestured towards the aged curtains. "My mother hung up a portrait of herself with a Permanent Sticking Charm so I can't get it down."

"Oh." Then the pieces fit together in her head. "Oh! So she's a wizarding portrait and that's why she screams?"

"Screams, belittles, scolds, you name it," Xander commented with a roll of his eyes. "That woman makes _my_ dad look nice."

"Oh," Willow said again as her best friend's words sunk in. She knew just what Xander's dad was like - _poor_ Sirius.

"Maybe we could cover her up with curtains that permanently stick?" Hermione ventured. "Would that work?"

"Possibly," Sirius mused. "We need to do something because if it doesn't stop I'm liable to rip it down with my bare hands."

The conversation paused and then Xander pumped his fist into the air. "That's it!" he shouted.

Immediately the black curtains flew apart to reveal a sickly older woman screaming loudly, her mouth a wide 'O' of anger.

"Bloody hell, Xander!" Sirius swore as he directed a fierce look towards the carpenter.

Everyone else began to grumble but Xander shook his head, his face brightened with a smile. "I'll be right back!" he called as he ran out the door.

Gritting his teeth, Sirius moved towards the portrait; Willow his silent shadow. As soon as the woman in the portrait saw him, her eyebrows furrowed even further.

**"YOUUUUUUU! MUGGLE LOVING SCUM, BESMIRCHING THE HOUSE OF MY ANCESTORS WITH YOUR COMMON GARBAGE! I REGRET THE DAY I EVER BORE YOU, CHILD!"**

Willow noticed how Sirius' face tightened painfully as he placed his hands on the curtains, struggling to pull them closed. "Hey!" she shouted, angry that this dead woman could have such a damaging effect on her boyfriend.

The woman paused to turn towards Willow. **"HOW DARE YOU ADDRESS ME, MUGGLE! WHO ARE YOU TO SPEAK TO ME IN SUCH A TONE?"**

Perhaps it was just Willow's imagination, but she reckoned that one strand of her hair turned black as night. "I'm the one sleeping with your son, you bitch! And stop your yelling just because your house actually has _nice_ people living in it rather than jerks like you!" she shouted hotly. "And you're lucky that you had Sirius as a son!"

**"FILTHY WENCH! TRESSPASSER! WHORE OF BABELYON, LEAVE MY HOUSE!"**

Permanent sticking charm, huh? Well, Willow would see how permanent that was…

A sudden roar ripped through the air. Startled, Willow looked back to see Xander holding a chainsaw, one of the many tools in his truck, and that an extension cord peeked out past the front door and outside. There was a great deal of screaming, for the wizarding folks were not used to the instrument of death and construction (depending on the wielder); strangely Arthur Weasley looked fascinated.

"Sirius!" Xander shouted above Mrs. Black's screaming and the chainsaw. "Mind if I use some of my 'muggle' moves?"

A smile broke out on Sirius' face. "By all means," Sirius said with a sweeping of his arm.

Grinning, Xander walked towards the painting, his chainsaw spinning and screaming.

**"WHAT IS THIS FOUL CREATION? WHAT MUGGLE GARBAGE DARE YOU BRING INTO MY HOME, YOU FILTHY DIRTY-BLOODED ANIMAL? I SHOULD—" **

Xander's chainsaw tore into the top corner of the painting and Mrs. Black looked up in fright, her words dead in her mouth.

"Now I'm no art critic, but I know what I like – and I _don't_ like you!" Xander called out cheerfully as he ripped into the canvas. Mrs. Black began screaming as she ran into the farthest corner of the portrait, but eventually Xander's chainsaw found her there as well. Her scream was cut short and within minutes the magical portrait had been slashed into strips and fell onto the floor.

Xander shut off the chainsaw only to be overwhelmed by loud applause. He grinned, his stance a'la Superman's famous pose. "Should I go after the creepy elf heads next?"

*****************************  
A/N:

Aaaaaand we're back again! I'm trying for weekly or biweekly updates, depending on the Muse :) So be sure to feed the Muse! ;)

Thanks for reading, everyone :) It's most definitely appreciated!

_References:_  
*Harry Potter timeline: ?startyear=1995&endyear=  
*The difference between the Weasley twins: .?action=gringotts&st=fg


	3. SPEW Gets Another Member

**S.P.E.W. Gets Another Member**

The scent of incense hung heavy in the air, and coupled with the heat from the crackling fireplace it created a dense atmosphere that seemed to press against her skin. However, the feeling was not oppressing or suffocating, but rather comforting; like cuddling underneath a down comforter. Buffy Summers inhaled deeply through her nose, feeling the oxygen travel down her trachea and into her lungs, filling them with air. She released the air, allowing it to smoothly pass her lips. Then her eyelids fluttered open as she reached the end of her meditation, smiling shyly at Oz.

"I'm not really sit-and-be-quiet gal," Buffy remarked depreciatively with a wry smile. She leaned back on her hands, her legs still crossed underneath her, and sighed.

Oz gave her an easy smile. "Slice-and-dice slayer types usually have problems with that."

Buffy noted that Oz really hadn't changed much since those first few months freshmen year of college. He was still very Zen-Oz-like, with laconic remarks and a chill vibe to him. Although, she noted with a mental smirk, his hair had changed again – this time very dark red hue that stood out in stark contrast to his fair skin. His clothes were different too. Instead of band t-shirts he now wore a traditional Tibetan robe, which was brown, reached his ankles, and had wide buttons that clasped at the front.

"I just want to be able to control this, you know?" Buffy shared with a slight frown. "I mean, it's like every night I go to sleep I dream about the other slayers – sometimes I swear I can even _hear_their thoughts." She gave him a despondent look. "I mean, I know I'm queen of all things freaky, but even this is too freaky for me. Me and mind reading are non-mixy things."

Oz's hazel eyes looked far away for a moment. "I remember." He glanced at her. "Just to be clear, it's just the slayers you're hearing, right?"

Buffy snorted. "Yeah," she reassured him with a smile. "Don't worry, your thoughts and entire being are still just for you."

He smiled; she wondered if he remembered what he had been thinking the day she got infected with that mind-reading demon blood – which she was later informed by Luna Lovegood that it was called a menslengua demon.

Idly Buffy wondered how Spike and Luna were doing in America. She had heard from Giles that they encountered Drusilla and some witchy friend of Moldyshorts named Bellatrix, but apparently both of them were killed that night. Thank god at that. She definitely didn't want them facing against Drusilla.

Again, her thoughts turned down a tangent path as she wondered how Spike felt about Drusilla dying. Was he sad? Did he still have feelings for her?

…Not that it mattered. They were just friends. Platonic friends. Who just like to take a month-long excursion with Dawnie around the world.

Buffy groaned and bent her head, rubbing vigorously at her temple. She stayed in Tibet to learn from Oz and his teacher on how to control her new slayer powers – and it would _not_do to get bogged down with silly things.

"Yuan for your thoughts?" Oz asked with a raised brow.

"Yuan?" Buffy asked with a bewildered expression.

He smiled. "It's not like they have pennies here."

Buffy laughed. She had to admit to being uneasy about staying in Tibet with Oz. He had, after all been the guy who had broken Willow's heart, not to mention Buffy had never really gotten to know him in the first place. But now that she had been here for a few days she had to say she was glad she had Oz here with her.

"Again?" Oz asked once her laughter subsided, referencing her attempt at proper meditation to soothe her inner slayer.

"Once more with feeling," Buffy whispered with a wry smile before she closed her eyes.

* * *

_July 31, 2003_

Dear Harry,

Happy Birthday! Happy sweet 15 and all that :)

I hope you're doing okay stuck with your aunt and uncle. I know you don't get along with them and Ron told me that they're like the worst muggles he's ever heard of :(

Honestly, I don't get why you just can't move in with Sirius. I guess Dumbledore told Sir that you have to stay with family so that way Voldemort can't get to you. Still…I think that's kind of dumb but Sir and Remus said that Dumbledore knows what he's doing. I hope he's right.

I'm sorry I can't update you on what's going on with the fight against Voldemort. Dumbledore told me, Ron, and Hermione not to mention anything over owl post because it could get intercepted. I promise we'll update you on everything as soon as you see us! (although to be honest, we really don't know a lot…which is starting to make me mad because I'm used to being kept in the loop and the adult-types here are soooo secretive! Grr-arrrgh!)

In better news, Willow got back a week ago and your godfather seems a lot better. Like you mentioned before, I was started to get worried about him. I mean, I know it's hard to have someone you love leave for two whole months but he seemed really sad. I don't know. I don't really get the whole 'true love' thing.

My studies with Sirius have been going good! Plus Hermione's been helping me like crazy, which is nice. Ron and the twins have been – lol – kind of helpful with getting me caught up for Hogwarts. And by helpful, I mean they've been teaching me loads of jinxes! Tomorrow I'm getting tested on my magical knowledge so here's hoping I get approved for Hogwarts!

Anyways, I'll be seeing you soon! Take care!

Your favorite pen pal :)  
Dawn

Sitting at the dining room table, Dawn read through her letter again, checking for errors, and then fastened it to the leg of her new owl, Kirby. Hooting softly, Kirby flapped his wings and hopped up, floating above the table. Giggling, Dawn got from her seat and pointed towards the pink cake box that was fastened with rope. "Okay, make sure you take the cake, Kirb! I'll give you some salmon when you return."

Kirby hooted cheerfully and rushed out the window.

The young Blakiston's Fish Owl was a gift from Xander and Tonks to help her get settled into the wizarding world. Dawn was ecstatic when she got the cute ball of fluff; he was so poofy and adorable when he hopped up and flew that she immediately thought to name him after a favorite video game character.

Of course, her owl wouldn't stay little forever. Already he was bigger than Ron's owl Pigwidgeon and Xander said that Fish Owls were the largest owls in the world, with wingspans of five feet and a weight of ten pounds.

Apparently, Dawn thought dryly, Xander had wanted to make sure she had a badass owl in case she happened to get attacked at school.

The sound of footsteps echoing through the quiet halls of Black Manor had Dawn glancing up at the doorway. Fred walked in (she knew it was Fred based on his smile…only Fred smiled that way at her lately) and Dawn grinned.

"Hey!" Dawn chirped as she began reorganizing her study guides and quills.

Fred, whose nose was dirtied with soot and whose clothes looked worse for wear, smiled in spite of the fact that he had been stuck cleaning all day. "Hey Dawn. Still studying, I see?"

Sighing dramatically, Dawn swept her arm over the books. "I feel like it's all I do." She grimaced. "I mean, seriously, I've studied all summer just so I can get into Hogwarts and do more studying."

Chuckling, Fred sat at across from her at the table. "Could be worse," he replied cheerfully. "You could be stuck cleaning all day with my mother supervising you. I swear that woman just wanted a lot of kids so she could have built in servants."

Giggling, Dawn shook her head. "Aw, your mom isn't that bad." Her smile waned a little and she shrugged. "I think it's nice she takes care of you guys so much."

Fred hesitated as he noticed the glow in Dawn's eyes begin to diminish. He knew her mother had passed a couple years ago and it was just her and her sister, who he had yet to meet. Impulsively, he took her hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Well, if you like I can loan her out to you. Be sure to give ya a nice interest rate, too," he joked with a lopsided grin.

His method worked. The light reappeared in Dawn's eyes and she laughed lightly as a blush began to color her cheeks. "Gee thanks," she remarked dryly, but her smile was dazzling. Fred found himself grinning back and lightly running his thumb in smooth circles over her hand. When he met her a couple months ago when his mom moved them into the Black Manor, Fred had been struck by her smile. And her beautiful hair. It was so long and right now it hung over her shoulder, and he had a sudden inkling to touch it…

Giggling and voices interrupted the moment.

"Sirius, stop. You're so bad." Willow and Sirius walked into the dining room, laughing together as Sirius walked behind his girlfriend, whispering something in her ear and grinning slyly.

Abruptly Fred let go of Dawn's hand and the she bent her head down as if she were reading.

"Bad enough that I need to be punished?" Sirius murmured, oblivious to the teenagers in the room.

Dawn shot Sirius a pained glare. "SIRIUS! Ew!" she screeched. "It's bad enough that we have to hear that kind of stuff when Anya is around."

Willow swatted Sirius, her cheeks flushed a vibrant pink. "Sirius!" she scolded, embarrassed that they had been overheard.

Sirius wrapped his arms around Willow's waist and smirked. "Be nice, Dawn, or I'll force Kreacher to quiz you for your test."

Willow's nose crinkled in derision. "Wait, are you talking about Buckbeak up in the attic? 'Cause that's not very nice to call your favorite hippogriff a creature."

Fred snorted and gave Willow a surprised look. "Don't tell me you haven't met that rodent yet. Although I'm not surprised, he's always hiding – probably wherever he keeps stealing the stuff we're trying to chuck out"

"Yeah, he is super creepy," Dawn agreed. "My first thought was that he was something Hellmouthy to slay."

"Wait…what?" Willow asked with a baffled expression.

Sirius made a sour face. "Kreacher is my family's old house elf that bloody insane and is the meanest little thing you've ever seen."

"OH!" Willow exclaimed, her eyebrows furrowed together. "You mean, like those heads on the wall by the stairs?"

"You mean the heads on the walls by the stairs _before _Xander took a chainsaw to them," Sirius snickered. "Merlin, I owe him for the rest of my life."

"Sirius! Are you honestly telling me that you have an elf slave imprisoned here?" Willow asked, aghast.

"Willow, they're not slaves," Sirius responded in a placating tone, his blue eyes begging for her to understand. "They _like_doing house work. It's tradition."

"Tradition? Oh yeah, well it was _tradition _in America to kidnap African babies and sell them once upon a time. A-and it was tradition to kick Native American families off their land and kill them if they didn't, once upon a time!" Willow replied hotly, her face flushed in outrage. She had never understood oppression, even going so far as not wanting to hurt the Native American spirits during freshmen year Thanksgiving at first (until, you know, they tried to kill her).

Holding his hands up in surrender, Sirius shot Fred a pleading look. "Fred, tell her that's just how things are in the Wizarding World. I mean," he said to Willow, "it's not like I made the rule book or anything!"

"It's true, Willow," Fred piped up. "We don't have one, on account of our finances at home, but most pureblood families have a house elf. In fact, some families have multiple ones. And at Hogwarts there's dozens of them taking care of the food and stuff."

"That's awful!" Willow gasped with a painful expression. "I mean, I knew the Wizarding World was backwards – you know, on account of them sticking criminals in with soul sucking dark creatures, and sometimes without even a trial – but this is ridiculous."

"Willow, I agree it's kind of twisted but trust me – Kreacher is a jerk. Don't feel bad for him," Dawn shrugged. "Ever since I got here he keeps calling me 'Mudblood' and it's really starting to make me want to kick him."

"Stupid house elf got too many ideas from my crazy parents," Sirius grumbled. "I keep telling him not to call you or Hermione 'mudblood' anymore but he doesn't listen. I swear, if it was allowed I would just behead him like he wants."

"Sirius!" Willow cried out in an appalled tone. Was her boyfriend really that vicious? What kind of place _was_the Wizarding World if they not only allowed dementors to survive, but encourage beheadings of innocent creatures?

"Willow, the critter _wants _to be beheaded and placed on the wall like his ancestors," Sirius replied with rolled eyes.

Willow paused. "Wait," she said in a tiny voice. "So…when Xander cut down those elf heads and threw them away…those were Kreacher's _family_?"

Sirius looked to Dawn and Fred for help, not knowing exactly what he was stepping into. "Uh…well, yeah."

"That's horrible!" Willow cried out, her fingers over her lips in grotesque surprise.

Wincing at her screech, Sirius gave a half-hearted smile. "Yeah, well…you were okay with Xander doing it last week," he reminded her.

"Only because I thought they were creepy shrunken heads, not someone's family!" Willow shot back, her hands resting on her hips. "I swear, Sirius Black, you think you of all people would have a little more empathy for someone who is imprisoned against their will."

"Whoa!" Sirius exclaimed, clearly annoyed. "Do not compare Azkaban to my house, Willow. And trust me, you wouldn't feel so bad for the thing if you met him. He's been horrible to me since I was a kid and I _hate _him, not to mention everything he stands for – my family, my mother," he added sourly.

Willow just let out a frustrated sigh and left the room, her footsteps echoing through the halls.

Sirius' lips pressed into a thin line as he counted to ten. He loved Willow but he couldn't believe she was acting so insane over elf rights. Especially when it came to _Kreacher_.

Merlin, he _hated _being back in his childhood home.

* * *

The next night Willow found herself outside Kidlington, England on the banks of the Cherwell River with Remus Lupin, who had apparated them both here. In front of her was a structure out of a storybook – a real, live castle.

The brick and mortar of the building appeared aged yet firm, and was encircled by a twenty-foot wide moat that was only accessible by a single bridge. Four turrets marked each corner of the castle, and the yard was divided into various areas. As they approached the bridge, Willow noted that there were several obstacle courses and an immense rectangular pool that glittered underneath the setting sun. She had, of course, seen the castle several times before she and Buffy left for Asia, but it was still all very new to her.

It had been a relief, after the sinking of Sunnydale, that Giles had managed to gain control of the Council assets. Not only had he been able to give each of them retroactive pay for Watchers Council work, but this castle had been one of the assets in the Council's portfolio as well. It now served as the International Headquarters of the Watchers Council and as the Sineya School for Gifted Young Women – although amongst themselves they just called it the 'Slayer Academy'. Originally it had consisted of the forty survivors from Sunnydale but now, thanks to Willow, Luna, Buffy, and Spike, there were roughly 175 girls who resided here. In addition to the slayers, the staff of the Watchers Council and Slayer Academy faculty had apartments in it as well.

Giles had offered Willow an apartment but she had turned it down to live with Sirius.

Hmm. Willow frowned. She really couldn't believe her boyfriend could be so callous about the house elves. The Sirius she knew was sweet and loving, not so cruel.

'_Well,_' a little voice interjected, _'he can be rather impulsive and does have a bit of a mean side – remember his stories of him and James bullying some of their classmates?'_

Still. That didn't mean anything – or so she hoped.

"Ready to head in, Willow?" Remus inquired, his placid eyes examining her expression.

"Yup," Willow nodded. They walked across the drawbridge, their footsteps sounding softly over the thick wood. "Hey Remus?" she asked quickly before she lost her nerve.

"Yes?" His light brown eyes glanced at her in concern.

"Does every wizard hate house elves? I mean, is that normal for you guys?" Willow chewed nervously on her lip, utterly hating the idea that Sirius could be so mean.

Remus' head cocked to the side and strands of his shaggy brown hair fell into his eyes. "Most wizards do not hate house elves, indeed they are below them enough that a house elf is not even afforded much thought. Some wizards feel fondness towards their house elves, however. It really does depend on the nature of the family," he frowned. "I take it you met Kreacher?"

She shook her head. "No, not yet, but I found out about him today. But the way Sirius spoke of him…it was so callous." She bit her lip. "I didn't think it was right."

"Ah, Hermione would probably become incredibly fond of you if you were to speak to her on this matter – she is very concerned about house elf rights and unfortunately no one else takes her very seriously," Remus informed her with a kind smile.

"As for Sirius," Remus continued, "you have to understand how hard it is for him being home."

"I know!" Willow said swiftly.

Remus gently squeezed her shoulder. "I'm sure. But Sirius…well he hates his home and everything that goes with it. Xander did him a great service by cutting down that portrait – although Padfoot never spoke of it, I know his mother's criticism was still painful. Kreacher is just another reminder – and it doesn't help that Kreacher hates Sirius just about as much as Sirius hates him."

"Oh," Willow replied in a small voice.

"Try not to judge him too much, Willow. He's been dealing with a lot being stuck in that house and I know it's been hard for him not being able to help the Order or Harry. Giles even offered him a position at the Slayer Academy but Dumbledore reminded him that someone needed to stay at the Order Headquarters at all time, and it should be the owner of the home."

They entered the front of the castle, waving to the slayer on duty at the front Information Desk. Vi, the redheaded slayer from Texas, waved back with a big smile. "Hey there Willow! Nice to see you, Remus! Anyhoo, head back into the library on the first floor – that's where the Board of Directors meeting is taking place."

"Thanks Vi," Remus said.

"Oh!" Vi's eyes lit up. "I almost forgot. Willow, Mr. Giles said he wanted to speak with you first in his office. Head down the hall, past the library, and turn left."

"Ok, alright," Willow mumbled. How peculiar – what could Giles want with her? She had sent in her report on the slayer search on her last day in Asia…

* * *

Willow opened the door to Giles' office and glanced around. He had changed it a bit since the chaos of opening the castle as Watchers Council HQ before she left. The room had a 'gentleman's' vibe to it – er, not that it had sexy showgirls or anything, it was just very much decorated as she pictured how an Englishman would decorate. Dark mahogany wood was the chosen decorative scheme, with his shelves, desk, and bookcase matching. The bookcase and shelves where lined with journals and books, many of them the musty-Giles-lovin variety. A window overlooked a garden tucked behind the castle, where lilies and orchards beautified the area.

Giles looked up at her and smiled. He wore a soft moss-green sweater that made him appear so casual that she almost forgot he was the new President of the Watchers Council. "Willow," he greeted kindly as he stood up to give her a fatherly hug. "How are you? I heard you got back last week?"

Willow took a seat across from his desk. "Oh, yeah," she said with a guilty expression. "I'm so sorry I didn't visit sooner—"

Chuckling, Giles waved her concerns away. "I am well aware, thanks to Anya, that you have been busy with other things this week. Don't worry about it, Willow."

Argh, what was it with Anya and having to make jokes about her and Sirius' sexy times? Just because _one_time everyone had overheard her and Sirius have sex back in Sunnydale (their first time, actually) didn't mean she always had to bring it up.

"So, what was it you wanted to talk about?" Willow inquired as she leaned forward in her chair.

Folding his hands on the desk, Giles fixed her with a weighty stare. "I know that you've been a bit out of loop of all the administrative changes within both the Watchers Council and the Sineya School. Now that you're back, I would like to talk with you about your future."

Willow's green eyes widened dramatically. "My future?" she squeaked.

Giles smiled. "Indeed. Now, in the three months since Sunnydale's collapse I've had the opportunity to put together a well crafted team of experts at the Sineya School, which includes the Council personal as well. Tell me, what do you think of this list?"

He slid a typed sheet of paper over his desk and Willow picked it up to read.

-  
**Members of the Watchers Council Board of Directors**  
1. Rupert Giles  
2. Buffy Summers  
3. Faith Lehane  
4. Willow Rosenberg  
5. Xander Harris  
6. Luna Lovegood  
7. Bernard Crowley  
8. Harold Robson  
9. Robin Wood  
10. Remus Lupin  
11. Anya Jenkins

**Faculty and Staff of the Sineya School for Gifted Young Women**  
**Rupert Giles, **Headmaster  
**Bernard Crowley, **Principal of Curriculum  
**Andromeda Tonks, **Dean of Students  
**Harold Robson, **Director of Public Affairs and Communications  
**Willow Rosenberg, **Director of Research  
**Anya Jenkins, **Director of Development

**Buffy Summers, **Field Instructor  
**Faith Lehane, **Field Instructor  
**Xander Harris, **Field Instructor  
**Robin Wood, **Field Instructor  
**Andrew Wells, **Field Instructor

**Remus Lupin, **Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts  
**Connor Angel, **Teacher Assistant for Defense Against the Dark Arts  
**Ted Tonks, **Professor of General Studies Education  
**Amelia McGonagall, **Professor of Philosophy, Ethics, and Magic

Willow read it over slowly. Giles as Headmaster came to no surprise. Although she had yet to meet Robson, Giles' old Council friend who almost died in a Bringer attack last year, and Crowley, Robin Wood's adopted father and retired Watcher, she knew that they were being brought on board. But then her eyes narrowed in surprise as she read the next line, and reread it again.

"Now I think we're quite fortunate that Sirius put us in contact with his cousin Andromeda and her husband Ted. Both of them have a good deal of expertise with private tutoring and the educational sector in general. Andromeda had, once upon a time, began her studies to be a Mind Healer before the First Wizarding War made her cease her studies, and she's really taken to counseling and providing activities for the girls. Ted will be taking care of the general studies education, which will include standard school curriculum including English and Arithmetic, since we do want our girls to obtain a solid education," Giles informed her.

Willow just gave him a blank stare, bewildered that he was just rambling on about the list he just gave her like it didn't give her a really super duper important position.

Giles continued on, smiling a bit at her reaction. "Anya, of course, loves getting money and I have no doubt she'll do wonders in developing our funds and enhancing the Council's resources. Remus undoubtedly is a skilled teacher and Angel's son Connor has really thrived in his new role assisting Remus."

"After my old friend Amelia aided you last summer with your magical addition, I thought she would be helpful instructing the girls on meditation, the ethics of being a slayer, and provide earth magic instruction should any of our girls decide to venture down that path." Giles' smile widened and she could tell that he was particularly proud of ensnaring Amelia for that role – her mentor did not usually engage in activities outside of the Devon Coven.

"As for our field instructors," Giles added, "they are of course responsible for teaching the girls hand-to-hand, weaponry, and field excursions to practice their skills."

Willow couldn't help but laugh. "Andrew, really?"

Giles chuckled and shook his head. "You would be surprised to see how much better he's been. He's been taking this 'field instructor' position incredibly serious. I have to admit, he's made me change my mind about him."

"And me?" Willow asked incredulously. "I mean, Giles! Director of Research sounds way too important a-and I'm only twenty-three! Plus, I'm like Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel considering I don't even have a baccalaureate degree. I mean, how can _I_do something that important if I'm only Miss 'High School Diploma plus Some College'?" She sucked in a deep breath after her moment of babbling.

"Willow," Giles stated seriously. "I have complete and utter faith in you. To be quite frank, you're more qualified for this job than anyone I know. You've been performing research on spells, apocalypses, demons, and other areas of the supernatural for the last seven years; and not to mention in the most notorious of life-or-death situations. Not only have you come through when needed, but your skills have drastically improved. Further, you are a bright young woman with a great deal of untapped leadership."

She cast her eyes down shyly at the desk, examining the smoothness of the wood and quality workmanship. Finally she glanced up at Giles. "I guess…if you think so."

"I know so," Giles reaffirmed with an encouraging smile. "I'm also still recruiting for the Council, trying to find men and women of quality to serve in further staff and faculty roles. Your new position may be rather burdensome in the beginning, and for that I apologize, but I will be working to increase your staff. My hope is that next year we can establish several small satellite offices around the globe at various locations of demonic energy."

Willow found herself smirking. "Wow, sounds super fun," she replied in a dry, sarcastic voice. "Yay for more Hellmouths." Her fist waved in the air in mock celebration.

Giles peered at her over the top of his glasses. "Do I need to enter into a lecture on the war that must be always fought, even if never won, or shall I simply glare?" he asked dryly in return.

"Glaring is good!" Willow said with a bright smile as she stood up. Giles-lectures were not of the good. "So, time for our fancy Board of Directors meeting?"

"I don't know about 'fancy', but I did order cheese and crackers," Giles informed her as he walked out the door.

"Giles! You crazy English party animal, you," Willow grinned as she followed him

* * *

**A/N:**

**I am officially taking nominations for other Sineya School faculty and staff members.**Nominees can be from any fandom. In particular I would like to see characters nominated that would make great martial arts instructors (considering no btvs characters are actually belt winners). Already the greater Willow's Thief universe includes the fandoms of: Supernatural, True Blood, Law and Order: SVU, and Gilmore Girls, but feel free to select from other fandoms as well!

Next up…we see what spell Voldemort has been working on ;)

Clarification: Regarding dates and timelines, I feel like it's better to use the BTVS years (so there are things like computers and internet) but the HP calendar of events (date of Harry's birthday, school starting, and other HP events).

_References:_  
*Jokhang Temple: .org/wiki/Jokhang  
*Lhasa (home to the Jokhang Temple): .org/wiki/Lhasa  
*Kirby: .org/wiki/Kirby_%28character%29  
*Blakiston's Fish Owl: .org/wiki/Blakiston%27s_Fish_Owl  
*Blakiston's Fish Owl pictures: .com/photos_  
*HP Timeline: ?startyear=1995&endyear=  
*Willow's hatred of oppression: Demonstrated in Season 4's 'Pangs' when she was outraged at how Native Americans had been brutally treated.  
*River Cherwell: .org/wiki/River_Cherwell  
*Watchers Council Headquarters: First seen in the 1st chapter of 'Crescent and Spike's Most Excellent Adventure'  
*Anya making fun of their sexy times: Willow's Thief, Chapter 42: Whips and Chains in the Chamber of Secrets  
*Harold Robson – I made up the first name, but Robson is the guy whose wife was killed and he was almost killed by a Bringer when Giles came into his apartment and fought the Bringers off.  
*Bernard Crowley – No appearances in BTVS but he was the Watcher of Nikki Wood who then adopted her orphaned son Robin. It is indicated that Bernard and Robin have a close relationship. Personally, I like the think that Bernard was one of the few 'good' Watchers (clearly he took in his protégé's son) and he retired after Nikki's death (which is common for most watchers, it seems).  
*Amelia McGonagall – Featured in Willow's Thief as Willow's magic mentor and she also happens to be Minerva McGonagall's 'squib' sister. Of course, few people realize that even 'squibs' can access earth magic. She is the leader of the Devon Coven and it is her cottage where Sirius met Willow.  
*The Watchers Council Organizational Chart - *snort* If you can't tell, I work in the education field so I happen to be very familiar with all these roles... ;)


	4. War Against the Paint ChipEating Idiots

**War Against the Paint Chip-Eating Idiots**

* * *

The Watchers Council library was something reminiscent of the famous Alexandria libraries. The ceiling stood thirty feet high and bookshelves lined every inch of the wall. Although a great deal of books were in possession of the Council, there were a number of empty bookshelves due to the tragic explosion at the Council headquarters last year. Soft lights lit the area, which was decorated spartanly and featured several study tables and an immense rectangular table that seated twelve people. The table was exquisitely crafted out of Brazilian Rosewood and was a dark red with fine brown streaks running through it.

Currently the members of the Watchers Council Board of Directors sat at the table. All were present except for Buffy, who was still in Tibet, and Luna Lovegood, who was finishing up her search for slayers with Spike. Giles, as President of the Board, sat at the head of the table and Faith, as the ranking slayer, sat at the other end; the latter appeared unused to her prominent seat and shifted continuously during the meeting like a restless predator.

Harold Robson and Bernard Crowley, the veteran watchers, sat at each of Giles' sides. Robson was a tall man with thinning black hair. He appeared to be in his early fifties and several wrinkles had begun to mar his forehead. His severe expression only furthered his aged look and his eyes held an unknown sadness. Crowley was short and squat, like an English muffin that had been squashed into the couch on accident. Wiry graying hairs stood at salute on his skull, as if he was attempting to go for a very low-key Don King look. Black spectacles sat on his wide nose, making him appear very studious, but a wide smile and a twinkle in his brown eyes told a different story.

Also present were Robin Wood; who had not changed in the two months since Willow saw him last, Xander, Remus, and Anya. The nine of them had gone through various pieces of business – castle remodeling updates, slayer training updates, slayer recruitment updates, and human resources regarding the upcoming position openings. Over an hour into their meeting they finally began to get into the important things, care of Giles.

"It seems that we have a problem with the Wizarding World," Giles began with a sigh as he cleaned his glasses on the soft fabric of his green sweater. "As you are aware, Spike and Luna reported to us last week that they were attacked by Drusilla – Spike's sire and Angelus' creation – and a witch accomplice of hers. That witch was Bellatrix Lestrange. I requested that Remus brief us on the woman."

Remus nodded and continued where Giles left off. "Bellatrix is a member of Voldemort's inner circle that was broken out of Azkaban earlier this summer. She's a vicious brutal creature that is responsible for numerous deaths and tortures. After the Wizarding War she was locked up in Azkaban – the wizarding prison," he clarified, "and we hoped never to see her again. However, it appears that Voldemort and Drusilla formed a partnership to kill the new slayers."

Everyone nodded grimly. They were all aware of what Luna and Spike had to deal with this summer. They were able to contact countless new slayers but some of them they never reached in time before Drusilla's minions killed them.

"Drusilla, it appears, is an ancestor of Luna's and was a Guardian before Angelus turned her. After the slayer activation spell we think that Drusilla was able to access the slayer visions through her connection to Luna. Through those she was able to find, and kill the slayers," Remus explained.

"Although it is rather confusing, apparently Drusilla wanted the slayers dead so she could have Luna all to herself – she planned on turning her—"

"If that fucking bitch even touched Luna, I'd have flown over there to play some 'Operation' with a wooden toothpick," Faith interrupted Remus with a growl. All the slayers – especially those in Sunnydale – were exceptionally fond of their dreamy fourteen-year old Guardian.

"Yes," Remus said with a grim smile. "It appears that Luna killed a flock of vampires in the Redwood National Forest, including Drusilla, after she fully activated her Guardian powers."

"Fully activated?" Crowley asked. "I was not aware the young Guardian was without that access."

"She was never trained in the ways," Giles explained. "Apparently whatever she found in the Redwood Forest helped her."

"Bellatrix was also killed that night," Remus informed them. "But that still leaves us with a problem."

"We got a dark wizard who's going to cry over his dead girlfriend?" Xander joked. His magical eye whizzed around, trying to judge who he made smile at his joke.

Remus raised his eyebrows. "Actually, I'd hate to see what Voldemort will do when he finds out." A heavy silence hung in the room. "Our problem is that Voldemort sent Bellatrix to help Drusilla kill the slayers – for whatever reason he is after our girls."

Hushed whisperers floated around the table before Xander raised his hand. "Okay, well I can see that," he shrugged. "I mean, Big Bads do always think it's a good idea to snuff out slayers. Plus, we did set up shop in his backyard. But are we seriously worried about this?"

Remus started to speak, but Xander stopped him. "I know I've been doing mostly Council stuff these last couple months and haven't heard a lot about this Moldyshorts dude, but he's just one guy with a pointy stick. How bad can he be?" Xander asked skeptically.

"A great deal more than you think," Giles said softly. "Remus has been filling me in. Remus?"

"Voldemort may not seem like anything compared to the First Evil or a Hellgoddess, but he's much more dangerous than you think," Remus warned. "During his first rise to power he nearly wiped our population."

"I remember hearing about him," Anya commented thoughtfully. "It always sounded like he either didn't get enough hugs as a kid or enough sex as an adult."

Willow snorted. Remus frowned at his girlfriend. "His true power is in both his magical abilities and his charisma. Voldemort has the capability of turning people, turning families, with his sweet words and forked tongue. Worse, he turned the populace paranoid. No one trusted each other. And it wasn't just the deaths and tortures – although those were plentiful. No, it was his mastery of twisting the political and judicial system to work for him. He is extremely crafty and his Death Eaters – many of them – are among the most well-respected and wealthy members of our society."

"I remember Sirius talking about those times," Willow added softly. "I mean, in the Wizarding World anything goes, right? You can use an Imperius spell to control someone's mind or Polyjuice Potion to impersonate someone." She winced – as did the other Scoobies who fell prey to Lucius Malfoy's impersonation of Kennedy Monroe earlier this year.

"Exactly! And that is why Albus Dumbledore reformed the Order of the Phoenix to fight against Voldemort's ways. Currently he is staying hidden, enjoying the disbelief that surrounds his return so no one expects his attacks. But we are trying to spread the word, get other magical creatures on our side, and foil the plans his Death Eaters carry out." Remus pressed his lips into a thin line. "Currently no one in the Wizarding World believes us but Voldemort _is _back."

"Okay, I'll admit I don't know a lot about the Wizarding World," Robin rumbled in his deep voice. "But isn't it true that wizards only fight with a wand? So we can break this Voldemort's wand and Faith can cut him up into fun-size bars, right?"

Remus appeared upset, perhaps taking it as a criticism against his world and his own method of fighting. "Yes _but_ you have to get close to him. Do you know what a dark wizard can do to you? He can curse you from yards away before you can even get near. Even if you do come close, he can apparate away, only to reappear behind you and curse you again. I'm not saying that brute force _can't _be helpful but I am not in favor of sending slayers against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. They are extremely dangerous."

Everyone was silent for a while as they mulled over Remus' words. After her experiences with Lucius and Alecto Carrow this year – not to mention her run-in with the aurors of the Ministry at Hogwarts last year – she knew how deadly wizards could be. In a fair fight – no weapons – a slayer would win. But when a wand is involved? That outcome is more than murky.

"So," Giles interrupted their thoughts as he looked each of them in the eyes. "It is unlikely that just because Voldemort failed once he won't continue his assault on the girls. Willow and Amelia created our magical wards when we first opened up the school but I would like to increase those, perhaps with some of Remus' wizarding magic."

"Sure," Willow and Remus agreed.

"As for Voldemort, I am unsure what to do with him. According to Remus, the Order cannot pinpoint his location and he is hidden from every scrying spell we have all tried. Therefore, I leave it to the Board to decide our next steps in this matter."

"If I may," Robson said. Giles nodded and he continued. "I've been a member of the Council for decades and have run across or heard accounts of the Council dealing with the Ministry of Magic, the governing body of Britain's magical population. And let me say," he said with a bitter smile, "that our interactions have never resulted in positive relations."

"Meaning?" Crowley asked with a raised eyebrow that slid above the rim of his black glasses.

"Meaning that I am unsure if we should get involved in wizard's business," Robson replied smoothly. "Once we tried to get involved in the Grindelwald business and they threatened to lock our slayer up because she was an 'unregistered supernatural creature'," he bristled.

"No!" Willow spit out incredulously. "They really said that?"

"According to the files," Robson answered her, a muscle in his cheek tensing. "Quite frankly, I'm worried about how they would react if they knew we had 175 slayers here – with more to come."

"Oh, they could _try_ to do something," Xander growled, his real eye alight in anger. "And I could _try _to introduce them to my chainsaw. I've found that it does wonders with the annoying bits of the wizarding world." He smiled serenely, a cold mask of deadly intent.

"Like them or not – Merlin knows I'm not rather fond of my government's view on supernatural creatures," Remus said bitterly. "But like them or not, you have to admit that the Ministry has a considerable deal of power. They could make life very difficult for the Council."

"Hence why I am unsure if we should actively work against Voldemort. Let the Ministry deal with them on their own, I say," Robson opined.

"But the Ministry is a bunch of paint chip-eating idiots!" Willow stated. "They won't even acknowledge that Voldemort is back, even though the guy almost killed Harry. Besides, just because someone is a witch or a wizard doesn't mean that they are _not_an innocent and not deserving of our protection."

"Why don't we just tell the Ministry we'll take care of their dark lord little problem for a few hundred million shiny Galleons?" Anya added with a cheerful smile. "Win-win for everyone!"

"Yes, well that will be a difficult deal to broker if the Ministry has chosen to remain ignorant of the wizard's return," Crowley pointed out kindly. "Personally I think we should take out this threat, but as quickly and as efficiently as possible so we can return to our own work."

"I say if Voldemort's forces have attacked our slayers and Guardian, then he's already asked to get his ass kicked," Faith said with a crack of her knuckles.

"I'm game. Let's shove his wand where the sun don't shine!" Xander cheered with his fist in the air, his lips curled into a smirk.

"Personally I feel like the Council doesn't have the resources to start a manhunt when we're trying to get reestablished and train the new slayers, but we should keep an eye on him if our girls are at threat," Robin opined.

"I'm an Order member. Clearly I am favor of the Council supporting our efforts," Remus commented with an easy smile.

Anya let out a heavy sigh. "Fine, but once we _do _smite Voldemort we should certainly extort a large sum of money from those wizards at the Ministry," she sniffed.

"All in favor of supporting the Order of the Phoenix?" Giles asked with a glance around the table.

"Aye," seven of them chorused.

"All opposed?"

"Nay," Robson, the lone nay replied.

Giles banged his official gavel. "The Ayes have it. I would like to assign Willow, Xander, and Faith to act as official Council representatives at the Order, in addition to Remus, who I am aware has been acting in that unofficial capacity."

"Me?" Faith asked, surprised that she was going to do something more official at the Council than just train newbie slayers.

"Absolutely," Giles said with an encouraging smile. "Willow, Xander, and Remus have ties to the Wizarding world and may not be as impartial as an outsider would be." Xander and Willow went to protest but Giles silenced them with a wave of his hand. "You both are dating a member of the Order and it is imperative we have multiple perspectives. Additionally, Faith, as our resident senior slayer it is important you stay abreast of information pertaining to our latest 'Big Bad', as it were."

Faith's glossed lips curved into a sly smile as she thought of Fleur Delacour, the Order member she had met last week. Oh yeah, she would stay a_breast_ alright.

* * *

**A/N**

Thank you for everyone who has been reading and reviewing! Many thanks to those who provided nominations for the Sineya School faculty and staff! They were brilliant and all have been set for consideration as I work on the story outline. I am still taking nominations if anyone else would like to offer one.

_References_:  
Just a refresher from the last chapter:  
**Members of the Watchers Council Board of Directors**  
1. Rupert Giles  
2. Buffy Summers  
3. Faith Lehane  
4. Willow Rosenberg  
5. Xander Harris  
6. Luna Lovegood  
7. Bernard Crowley  
8. Harold Robson  
9. Robin Wood  
10. Remus Lupin  
11. Anya Jenkins

Oh, and this chapter had a whole bunch of spoilers for Crescent and Spike's Most Excellent Adventure - hopefully you've all read that by now... :) If you haven't (and shame on you!;) then you are officially caught up on everything that matters for the current story! :)


End file.
